Promise
by lazvli
Summary: A short story that explains Lapis' sacrifice in "Jail Break".


Promise

Lapis Lazuli had been a prisoner her whole life.

She was sure she was born a prisoner, and would be for the rest of her days.

All her memories were full of her being locked away from the rest of the universe. Behind bars, behind a mirror, behind something...

Something always holding her back from sweet freedom.

Believe it or not, Lapis was once able to roam wherever she pleased. She didn't have to come up with escape plans every second of the day. No worries or fears of being caged, just... free.

She used to fly around space with her water wings. Flying was one of her many past times, and she loved the way it felt. She felt weightless and at peace every time she zoomed through space.

Lapis was happy then. Glad to be alive. But now, things have changed.

Like her wings. They were so big and majestic then, but now they had become small and frail.

Just like her.

Lapis had been tossed away, ignored, and forgotten so easily. She didn't remember how or why, she just knew the entire universe was against her.

... maybe not the entire universe.

For centuries she had no idea what care or love was, what it meant and what it felt like. All she knew was cages... cold cages.

But then he saved her. He released her from her mirror prison, healed her broken gem, and helped her get home.

He didn't judge her for how many bars she had been behind, or for how she saw the world. Instead, he showed Lapis friendship.

His name was Steven. Lapis' first friend in thousands of years.

It was so surreal, to have someone worried about her and want to help her. She didn't understand him, Lapis had done nothing to deserve his care.

It was when he had given her wings back that she realized. It was just in his nature to be nice to anyone, to make the universe just a little bit better. He was just born sweet and kind, born a hero.

Lapis admired him for that, he still saw the good in the world when so many bad things had been thrown his way. His kindness made her feel different about how she viewed everything.

Perhaps her life, the place she lived in, wasn't so bad. Someone cared about her, someone wanted her to keep going.

Maybe if there were more people like him, she could start loving the world like she had when she was younger.

As Lapis said farewell to Steven, she promised herself that she would start to see things in a more positive light.

She had to for him.

Repeating her promise to Steven over and over to herself, she set off for home world.

She could finally go home.

* * *

Home world was not like was it used to be.

Lapis supposed she should have known better. After all, many things can change in a thousand years.

The technology was more advanced, and the gems were more stoic. Everything and everyone was colorless, emotionless even.

Home world used to be so beautiful and welcoming, but now it was prison.

Lapis didn't return home, she just came to another cell to be thrown away in.

And here she was again. Sitting in jail with her legs pulled up towards her chest and crying into her knees, on a ship heading towards the one person who showed her care.

Her life was a never ending cycle of pain and misery, she would never find joy again. It was impossible to feel optimistic when she had been treated like garbage her whole life.

There really was no point for her to go on, what did she live for? Lapis had lost her home, happiness, and hope. The three things she cared for the most had swept away from her so simply.

She felt as if she should just give up on everything.

… but she couldn't.

It wasn't the promise she had to made Steven that made her continue, for she had already broken it when she was once again thrown back behind bars.

Instead, it was protection for the young human.

Steven still had his home, his happiness, and his hope. He still had family and friends to see every day. He still had something to look forward to.

Lapis had lost her will to fight for her life, so instead she would fight for Steven's.

After all, she owed him a great debt. He had saved her and made her feel the first ounce of delight in a long time.

As Peridot's ship began to descend into earth's atmosphere, Lapis made a new promise.

She would fight for Steven and what he stood for.

Even if it meant she disappeared forever.

* * *

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